Shem and Ila After The Ark
by gabbygrl247
Summary: This is the story of Shem and Ila and their family. My story is based off a first draft of a script so not all of it correlates with the film. The characters of Shem, Noah, Ham, and Japheth are all from the biblical story Noah and Ila, Naameh, and Na'el are all Darren Aronofsky's characters.
1. New Additions

The pain was unbearable. It felt as if someone was stabbing me repeatedly in the back. I cried out in agony, which woke my husband, Shem.  
"Ila, what is it? What is wrong?" he asked, stroking my hair.  
"My back! It hurts." I cried  
"Sh, it is alright." He said soothingly, "I will rub it."  
He turned me on my side and began kneading, but it wasn't helping and I continued to cry.  
"Ila, I know it hurts but you need to be quiet or you will wake the girls." He told me.  
"You have no idea how I feel!" I spat at him, but inside I knew he was right.  
As I was beginning to calm down, I felt the familiar gush of water leak from between my legs.  
"Oh no." I said dreading what would happen next, "it's time, Shem."  
"I will get mother and have Japheth watch over the girls." He told me, then he kissed my forehead and left.  
As soon as he left my first contraction hit and it was worse than the pain in my back. I screamed and mother rushed in and right to my side. She was followed by father who was carrying blanket and a bucket of water. He put them down and came over to my other side and grabbed my hand. He began to wipe my forehead with a wet cloth and mother went to look in-between my legs.  
"How do you feel?" she asked me, cleaning off her hands.  
"My back hurts." I cried in reply.  
Mother reached under my dress and began to feel around. As she was doing this, Shem ran into our hut and sprinted to my unoccupied side, grasping my hand and kissing it.  
"The girls?" I asked him through my tears. "Japheth has them with him in his hut."  
He then turned to mother and asked, "Is it coming?"  
"Yes." She replied, "I can feel the head."  
Another contraction hit and I screamed, gripping both Shem's and father's hands as tightly as I could. I saw Shem wince but I did not care. It was his fault that I was in pain, he wanted another child. I wanted one as well, but I would rather blame my pain on him. Once the contraction passed, I let out a breath of relief and rested back on a pillow.  
"It's over now Ila, rest a while." Shem whispered in my ear.  
"The head is moving down more daughter." Mother informed me, "You will need to push soon."  
At this point the pain in my back had become so blinding that I couldn't help but lean over and vomit. Once I was done being sick I began to sob.  
"Ila!" Shem yelled in shock, "it's alright, you are okay."  
"Noah could you clean up. Shem I need you to grab a wet cloth and keep her cool. Ila, my love, I know you are in pain, but I need you to help me undress you." Mother instructed all of us.  
She came closer to me and with a little bit of my help, she pulled my dress off and covered me with a thin blanket. Shem began to wipe my face with a wet, cool piece of cloth. I began to feel less suffocated but I still did not feel right.  
"Ah!" I screamed as another, more powerful contraction hit and gripped Shem's hand harder than before.  
"Mama! Mama!" I heard from outside the tent.  
Before I knew it I saw two manes of blond hair as my daughters rushed into the hut, towards me, crying.  
"Sh, it's alright." I managed to choke out, "Mama's okay."  
"Girls go back to your uncle." Shem told them while trying to comfort Adah who had clung to his leg.  
"No!" Evi cried as she tried to bury herself in my chest, "Mama!"  
Another contraction hit and I couldn't help but howl, reaching out for mother with my free hand. The girls, terrified, began to weep into Shem's legs.  
"Ila you must breath." Mother told me soothingly, keeping her hand in my vice-like grip, "you need to stay calm."  
"Girls." I whimpered, "Mama's sorry. Please go."  
Father came back in and took them both out of the hut. As they were leaving, they were screaming for Shem. With the girls gone Shem put his undivided attention back on me and continued to cool me down with the wet cloth. Mother went back to her spot in-between my legs to see where the baby was.  
"I don't think I will make it." I cried to Shem.  
"Don't you ever say something like that!" he instructed me, "you will make it, as will our child."  
Mother gave me some water and I took it greedily, but as soon as I swallowed some I vomited again.  
"I need to sleep." I said to Shem, who was cleaning up my mouth, "I am tired."  
"Mother what is going on?" Shem asked hysterically.  
"Calm yourself son. Ila you need to stay awake, it is time for you to push." She said.  
I was about to protest, but I felt the need to push. I took a deep breath and bore down as hard as I could  
"Good Ila." Mother told me, "It is coming fast."  
"Keep going Ila you are doing wonderful!" Shem encouraged me as he kissed my forehead.  
"I can't push anymore." I cried, feeling faint.  
"You must!" Mother yelled, "Only one more child.  
I pushed harder than I had before and I felt my child slip out of me. Before I could see it or hear a cry, I passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Thirsty. That is how I felt. I opened my eyes to find Shem asleep next to me his head on my chest. His hair was sprawled all over the place and a little bit was plastered to his forehead. I pushed it back and he began to stir.

"Ila?" he asked. He jolted up and kissed me.

"Oh Ila!" he buried his head in my neck.

"Sh, I'm here now. What happened?" I asked.

Before he could answer me I heard shrill cry. I looked over and saw a tiny newborn, wrapped tightly; lying in the cot Shem had built months before. Shem got up and walked over to the cot. He bent over it and gently lifted the child out and came back over to me.

"Is that the child?" I asked him, my eyes brimming with tears.

"Yes." He told me, handing me the baby, "and he is quite hungry."

"He. It's a boy." I said taking him into my arms.

I looked down at my son for the first time and saw he had a head full of dark brown hair, which was very different from his sisters' blond hair. His eyes had the blue tint mother told me all newborns had for a little while, but I could tell he had Shem's beautiful brown-green eyes. He began to fuss, so I pulled down the blanket that was covering me and put him to my right breast. He took my nipple in his mouth and began sucking hungrily.

"He's so beautiful." I whispered, stroking his tuft of hair.

"That is because he looks like his mother." Shem said, kissing me.

He bent down and grabbed a glass of water, which he handed to me. I took it from him and gulped it down.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me, feeling my forehead.

"Better." I told him, leaning into his hand, "how long was I asleep?"

"Not very long, but I was so afraid." He answered, looking me in the eyes.

"I'm fine, I'm awake now." I comforted him, "have you thought of a name yet."

We both looked down at our son. He was still eating. I detached him and switched him to my left breast.

"Yes." He told me, "Elijah."

I turned my head sharply to look at Shem, tears forming in my eyes. Elijah was my birth father's name. I had told him when we were younger, he had asked me about my real family but I did not think he remembered.

"Thank you." I whispered, leaning over to kiss him.

After a few moments of silence, the only sounds coming from Elijah, who was still eating, mother poked her head in the hut.

"Oh thank goodness you are awake now Ila! How do you feel?" she asked.

Before I could respond, the girls ran into the hut, screaming mama. Their screams startled Elijah, who instantly started to howl. Shem took him from my arms and began rocking him. The girls took this opportunity to throw themselves at me.

"Careful girls!" mother scolded them.

"It is alright mother." I told her, scooting over so they could lie next to me.

"Baby!" Adah shrieked, pointing at Elijah who had started to calm down.

"Yes this is your brother." Shem said to her, handing Elijah back to me so that the girls could see him better.

"He's small." Evi said, touching his hand.

"He will get bigger and then you can play with him." I told her.

Elijah fell asleep so Shem but him in his cot and took the girls into their room. I, with mother's help, had washed off and changed into clean clothing. I was getting comfortable in the bed, which mother had changed the cloth covering it and the blanket, when Shem came back. He took his shirt off, put on a clean pair of trousers, and climbed into bed with me.

"Did I tell you how wonderful you were today?" Shem whispered in my ear.

"I don't believe you did." I said, turning to face him.

"Well you were." He replied and then kissed me, "I love you Ila."

"And I love you Shem."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a difficult few weeks. I was still tired and sore from the birth and the girls were not adjusting to having a newborn around too well. During the day Shem would play with the girls and take care of them, while mother would help me care for Elijah, mostly watching him while I slept and waking me when he needed feeding. The day was not too bad compared to nighttime. Nighttime was horrible. Elijah never slept and his constant wails woke the girls who would then holler for Shem to come to them or they would try to climb in our bed. It got so bad, that mother and father ended up taking the girls into their hut at night so they could sleep peacefully and Shem and I could take care of Elijah with no distractions.

"Be careful! Shem watch them!" I yelled to my husband.

"I know Ila." He replied, rolling his eyes.

Shem and father were currently trying to teach the girls how to swim in a nearby lake. Mother and I were sitting on the shore with Elijah, watching them. Japheth was also in the water, trying to help.

"He's ready to eat daughter." Mother told me, handing Elijah, who was starting to fuss, over to me.

"It seems that he is always hungry." I replied, taking him.

I untied the front of my dress and let him attach to my left breast.

"Your brothers were the same way." Mother said, laughing a bit, "Especially Shem, no matter how much he ate, he was always hungry moments later."

"Yes, he does enjoying eating," I remarked, staring at my husband in the water.

"Mama, Naama, look!" Evi screamed at us.

I looked over to see her swimming a few strokes, from Japheth to Shem, on her own. While she did this, Adah clung on to her grandfather, terrified.

"Oh Evi!" I cried, "You did it! You swam."

Shem carried her over to the shore and she ran over to me and mother.

"Did you see me Eli?" she asked her brother who was busy eating, "did you see me Naama?"

"Yes I did Evi and you were wonderful." Mother replied to Evi, wrapping a blanket around her and bringing her into her lap.

"Maybe Adah will try now." I stated, switching Elijah to my right breast.

"Hungry!" Evi declared.

"Here have some bread and berries." Mother told her, handing her a bowl full of luscious blue berries and a piece of bread.

As she began to eat, I turned my attention to the water to see Adah leave her grandfather's arms and paddle into Shem's strong, open ones.

"Adah you did it!" I yelled to her tears in my eyes.

Adah had never been adventurous like Evi. She preferred to stay in the comfort of either Shem's or my arms and almost never did anything that could hurt her. She was very quiet, unlike Evi who tended to scream everything she said. Evi loved to be the center of attention and Adah did not.

"Mama I'm done." Evi said, breaking me from my thoughts.

Shem came out of the water with Adah and sat down, handing Adah some food.

"Here I will take him, you eat." Shem told me, taking Elijah, who had just been burped, from my arms.

"He will sleep soon." I instructed him.

"Yes Ila I know." Shem replied, kissing me.

He got up to go and grabbed Evi, who had fallen asleep, in his free arm.

"Japheth will you come help me?" Shem asked our brother.

"Of course." He relied, getting up and leaving with Shem.

The rest of us sat, enjoying our mean in silence, until Adah broke it.

"Mama milk?" she asked

"Not right now Adah, mama's tired." I told her.

I had tried to stop feeding them so much, but mother said the milk was good for them, so every once in a while I let them. I caved in and let her have whatever milk had come back.

"Slowly Adah." I told her, wincing.

She slowed down her pace and mother, father, and I, with Adah in my arms, got up and began to walk back to our huts. Father put his arm around me and helped me stay upward, since Adah was bigger than Elijah.

When we got back, Adah had fallen asleep so I put her in her hut with Evi and Elijah, who were also sleeping, and went back to my own. When I got in, I noticed Shem was lying in bed, so I crawled in and snuggled up close to him.

"Ila?" I heard him mumble.

"Who else." I replied.

Without opening his eyes, he pulled me in closer to him and began to kiss my neck. He moved his hands down, past my neck, shoulders, sensitive breasts and my bellybutton, and let them rest at my hips. I let out a moan and he moved his lips to nibble on my ear a bit. I let my hands wander, touching his hair, arms, and toned stomach. When they finally reached his thighs, we were interrupted by a loud shriek.

"Mama, papa, Eli up!" I heard come from the children's hut.

Shem was about to get up, when I put my hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'll get him, you fix yourself." I told him, pointing at his lower half.

"Yes, I will do that." He said, kissing me.


	4. Chapter 4

It was winter once again. All the animals had gone away, in caves and burrows, and the snow had begun to fall. Elijah was crawling now and the girls, amused, liked to let him follow them around. Shem and I had bundled them all up and taken them outside to play in the snow. Shem held Elijah in his lap, letting him throw snow everywhere, while I helped the girls build different things. We were all having a good time, when we heard mother scream.

"Oh Ham!"

I grabbed Elijah from Shem and ran to where she was, and sure enough saw my younger brother, with the girl father had thrown out of the ark.

"Ila." He whispered and went to hug me.

Without hesitation, I lifted my arm and smacked him across the face as hard as I could, making him stagger backwards.

"Ham!" the girl cried, "Are you alright?"

"How dare you!" I screamed at him, "You left without telling anyone. Gone for the longest time. We didn't know if you were dead or alive!"

Elijah started to wail, scared from my screaming. Mother took him in her arms and tried to soothe him.

"Ham?" I heard Shem ask and turned to see him behind me, holding Evi as Adah clung to his leg.

"Mama!" Adah cried, running towards me.

I picked her up and she buried her head in the crook of my neck. I felt Shem come closer and put his arm protectively around me. At that point, Japheth and father had come out of their huts to see what all the fuss was about. As soon as Ham saw father he tensed and grabbed the girl's hand.

"Ham." Father began, "I am so happy you are home! And you, young girl, I am happy he spared you, Ham deserves a wife."

Mother hugged father, with Elijah in her arms, and Japheth ran over to Ham and hugged him.

"Are those the babies?" Ham asked Shem, still too nervous to speak to me.

"Yes." Shem told him, "I am holding Evi, Ila has Adah, and mother is holding our youngest, Elijah, a boy."

"They are all beautiful, like you Ila." He said to me.

"How did you survive?" Japheth asked the girl, "and what is your name?"

"It is Na'el, and I do not know why I was spared or how." She told us.

Adah began to squirm so I put her down and she cautiously walked over to Ham and Na'el.

"Who are you?" She asked him curiously.

"I am your uncle, Ham." He told her, crouching down to be around her height.

"Papa I am cold!" Evi exclaimed holding onto Shem tighter than before.

"Come let's rest." He said.

He walked over to Adah and scooped her up, while I took Elijah from mother's arms. Shem put the girls in their hut and then joined me in ours while I feed Elijah. He sat down next to me and began stroking Elijah's thick head of hair, which was much like his own.

"I think it is time for another." He said, after I had put Elijah down.

"Another what?" I asked me, "hut?"

"No. Another child." He replied his hands on my stomach, "Elijah is getting older and I rather enjoy seeing you with child."

"I believe you are right." I told him, "When do you want to try?"

"Now." He said.

I lifted my head from his chest and kissed him. He kissed me back and moved so that he was on top of me. He took his top off and then took off my dress. I blushed since he had not seen me naked for a while. My breast were red and blotchy from Elijah's constant feedings and I had marks on my stomach, surrounding the large scar I had had for years.

"You are so beautiful Ila." He told me.

He began to kiss my neck, his hands wandering along my naked body.

"As much as I like this Shem, we must hurry." I panted.

"Yes of course." He replied.

I tore off his pants and he plunged into me. I cried out, from pleasure and shock. I t had been months since we had last been together. We both began to moan as he started to thrust rhythmically.

"Yes!" I cried out, "Shem don't stop, please!"

"I won't. I love you" he replied, kissing me.

He moved his mouth from my lips to suck on my neck. I couldn't take his slowness so in one swift move; I flipped us over so that I was on top.

"Oh Ila!" Shem cried, going deeper inside of me.

"Shem!" I screamed, hitting my climax.

"Ila!" he yelled, hitting his too.

I collapsed on top of him and kissed his chest. He turned us over and pulled out of me and we both fell into a blissful sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

It was official, I was pregnant. I had begun to feel ill, so Shem had father brew his test and the water turned yellow. Shem, like every time we found out I was pregnant, had dropped to his knees and kissed my stomach while I cried. We made father swear not to tell anyone because we wanted to wait until I was showing. That was about ninety-two days ago; Shem kept count on one of the walls in our hut. I had finally had a bit of swelling so we agreed we would tell the family tonight while we ate.

We were all sitting around the fire eating the meal mother and Na'el had made. Mother had wanted me to help her but I made an excuse not to, saying Elijah was hungry and pretended to feed him in my hut. The girls were covered in their food, Evi in Shem's lap, while Adah was sitting in Ham's. Adah had become very attached to Ham in the time he had been back. Father was holding Elijah, trying to feed him some herb to soothe his teeth, which had just started to come in. Shem looked over at me and I nodded.

"Ila and I are having another baby." Shem told everyone, standing up.

"Oh that is wonderful!" mother cried, throwing herself at Shem, "How long have you known?"

"Ninety-two days, Shem counted." I replied.

"That long." Ham said, engulfing me in a hug.

Mother detached herself from Shem and came over to me. She pulled me into a hug and then put her hand on my stomach.

"I can feel some swelling!" she happily exclaimed.

"What do you think girls?" Shem asked them.

"No more babies!" Evi screamed.

"They cry." Adah said, a bit quieter than her twin.

I couldn't help but burst into tears at their reactions. Shem put Evi down and put his arm around me.

"Sh, it is okay." He told me soothingly, "they do not understand."

"It'll be wonderful Ila." Mother added, stroking my hair.

"No!" I heard, and turned to see Elijah giggling in father's arms, "No!"

"He spoke." Shem whispered, astonished.

He removed his arm from my shoulders and grabbed Elijah from father. He tossed in the air and kissed him.

"Come on Elijah say it again!" Shem encouraged him.

"No!" Elijah said in return.

"My baby!" I cried taking him from Shem.

"Ma." He whispered, burying his head into my neck.

"Did you hear him Shem?" I asked my husband, crying, "He called me ma!"

"I did, I heard it." He replied rubbing Elijah's back.

We all stayed by the fire a bit longer. The children had all fallen asleep, Elijah in my arms, Evi in Shem's, and Adah in Ham's. Shem, Ham, Japheth, and father were all discussing something. Ham and father had gotten over their problems since Ham had gotten back and had made up; Ham had his arm around Na'el, who was asleep on his shoulder. I was thinking when mother decided to interrupt my thoughts.

"What bothers you daughter?" she whispered, getting closer to me so nobody would hear us.

"Nothing bothers me." I replied.

"Do not lie to me Ila." She told me, looking me in the eyes, "tell me what the matter is."

"I do not know." I sighed in defeat, "it's just before we had children, Shem and I were so in love and we would spend hours running around and kissing, but now we are barely alone and I don't think he even loves me anymore."

By those last few words I was sobbing and everyone and stopped what they were doing to look at me.

"It is nothing." Mother told everyone, "I will take her to bed."

She got up, handed Elijah to father, and helped me up. We walked in silence back to my hut. I was still crying and she let me walk with my head on her shoulder. Once we got back to my hut, she helped me lie down and handed me a glass of water.

"I want you to listen to me Ila." Mother told me sternly yet gently, "you and Shem did not fall out of love, you grew up. You have children to care for now and they are most important. I see the way Shem looks at you child, he still loves you."

Her words had calmed me down and I had begun to fall asleep when Shem came in. He dressed in his night clothes and crawled into bed with me. He kissed me and before I drifted off to sleep I heard him say,

"No matter what Ila, I will always love you."


	6. Chapter 6

A few weeks had passed since Shem revealed I was with child and within that I time I had begun to get sicker by the day. It would get so bad at times that I would not be able to get out of bed. On those days, I only woke to feed Elijah. Shem would spend these days caring for me while mother and Na'el watched after the children and father, Ham, and Japheth worked on the new hut Shem had begun to build for us. When it is done, it will be large enough to comfortably fit the five of us, plus the new baby, and it was a good enough distance for us to be able to walk to see the others, but to also be our own little family. Once our new hut was built and we got settled in, Ham and Na'el would move into ours. Since they came they had been staying in Japheth's hut, and Japheth had been staying with mother and father.

I was currently resting on a little mat outside the hut with Shem while we watched the girls pick flowers with Elijah. The cold winter had finally ended and the snow had melted.

"Have you thought of what you might want to name it?" Shem asked me as he massaged my feet.

"I haven't really had the time." I replied tiredly, "have you?"

"A bit." He replied, moving his hands from my feet to me belly, "I like to think about it when you are napping and I get to speak to the baby in peace."

"You speak to my stomach while I am asleep?" I asked him.

"Not to your stomach." He replied kissing it, "the child."

"Well would you care to tell me the names you have been discussing with the baby?" I asked him.

Before he could answer me we heard a piercing scream come from the direction of the children. Shem jumped up and sprinted over to see what was wrong. He ran back to the mat carrying Evi. As he got closer I noticed a there was blood dripping from a gash on her leg. He put her down next to me and she buried her head in my chest as she sobbed. Shem went to go grab Adah and Elijah and I took one of the blankets from the mat and wrapped it around Evi's wound.

"Keep pressure on it." Shem instructed me, putting the other children down, "I am going to get father."

He left, running, and Adah crawled over to where Evi was.

"You hurt Evi!" Adah told her.

"I am. Mama I'm hurt." Evi cried clinging to me even more than she was before.

"I know baby." I said soothingly.

Shem rushed back with father; both out of breath. Father had bandages and different herbs with him as well as some water. Mother followed the both of them.

"Ila I need you move her so that I can see her leg. Naameh take Adah and Elijah away." Father instructed.

Mother took the other children and I moved Evi so that her head was between my stomach and my bosom, which wasn't very comfortable for me but it was for her. Shem moved over to where both of our heads were and whipped Evi's forehead with freshly wet cloth. Evi had stopped shrieking, but she was still sobbing. Father removed the blanket from her leg and began to clean the wound. It wasn't a very big gash, but from what I could see it was deep. He blended some herbs together in some water and dabbed the concoction on the wound with some cloth as gently as he could.

"Papa it hurts!" Evi cried, reaching for Shem, "No more!"

"I'm sorry baby." She cried, "But it has to be cleaned."

I began to play with her hair and started to hum. It calmed her and by the time father finished cleaning the gash and wrapping it, she was fast asleep. Shem carried her to her bed and father helped me up and we began to walk to the fire pit for dinner.

"Thank you father." I said to him.

"You are welcome Ila." He replied, "It was just a gash. I believe she was frightened by the blood mostly.

Once we got to the pit, he helped me sit and went to put the herbs and bandages back.

"How is she?" Ham asked.

"She is fine, asleep now." I told him.

Mother came over to hand me a bowl of soup, but the second I smelt it I doubled over and vomited.

"Okay never mind Ila." Mother told me reassuringly, "I will get you some bread."

"What happened?" Shem asked coming to my side.

"The smell of the soup upset her stomach." Mother told him, handing me some bread, "get her some water."

Shem brought me some water and moved over so his meal wouldn't make me sick again.

"Shall we thank HIM." Father said.

We all stopped eating and father thanked the creator for trusting with his task, apologized for failing him, and thanked him again for the food and our wonderful family.

"And maybe someday, Ila will be able to eat again." He concluded.


	7. Chapter 7

The farther into my pregnancy I got, the larger I seemed to get. I had gotten so big that we had to wean Elijah off my breasts because there was no comfortable way to for me to feed him. He had put up a fight at first, but when I had given in and fed him, the baby kicked him and he wasn't too happy about it. He was now eating mushed berries and fish that mother prepared. He was also beginning to speak more. He called Shem, "Pa," and would yell, "Now," to the girls when he wanted to play with them. As Elijah got older, Adah and Evi began to like him better. The three would spend all day playing together, running and collecting berries. Evi's leg had completely healed within a few days, but she pretended that it still hurt for the attention. She would cry when she was told to walk and someone, usually father, would carry her. She kept this up for about a week, but then she watched her brother and sister running and climbing over their father and decided to give up her act and join in.

My sickness had primarily ended and even though I carried a fairly large weight, I spent most of my time playing with the children. The girls had taken an interest in my pregnancy this time and enjoyed feeling the baby kick and talking to my belly.

Everyone was currently eating breakfast in the dining area eating together. Ham and Na'el had announced that she was with child a few days earlier so she sat a little farther back from everyone else to avoid getting sick. I was enjoying my meal and feeding Elijah some mushed berries, when I felt the baby give a strong kick towards my insides.

"Ouch!" I shrieked.

"Ila what is it?" Shem asked, rushing over to me, "is it time?"

"No it is not coming." I told him chuckling, "it just kicked hard towards my insides."

"But I thought it kicked higher this morning?" he asked me curiously.

"It did." I replied, "Right above my rib."

"Maybe you are carrying twins again." Mother suggested.

"It would make sense; you were about this size with the girls and smaller with Elijah." Shem said.

"Are you telling me I am huge?" I asked him with a glare.

"Yes but I don't mind." He replied, kissing me.

Mother slapped Shem upside the head while I scoffed and handed him Elijah.

"Ouch mother!" Shem exclaimed, "And where are you going off to Ila?"

"I am going to take a bath and a nap while you watch the children." I told him.

I kissed both of the girls on their foreheads and headed off towards the hut. I started pouring some water into the washing basin that I had started heating earlier and put some herbs in. Once the water had cooled to a nice warm temperature, I undressed and got in.

"Daughter." I heard and turned to see mother standing in the doorway, "can I enter?"

"Of course mother, would you mind added a bit more water?" I asked her.

She nodded and poured some of the hot water into the tub. She took some oils from a vial in her pocket that she had extracted from some flowers and added it to the water.

"Thank you." I told her, closing my eyes, "Do you really think its twins again?"  
"Yes I do." She replied.

She poured some water on my hair with a cup and once it was wet enough, she braided it and tied the end with a string. She used to do this when I was little, just as I told her my birth mother did. I took a cloth to clean myself but she took it from my hands.

"No let me, I miss this." She said.

I chuckled in return and handed her the cloth.

"You can wash your grandchildren you know." I told her.

"Yes I know but it's different." She replied, "And I know I am not going to see them as much when you move away; or you and Shem for that matter."

"That is not true mother." I said looking at her, "it is not that far away, just little walk."

"But I do not understand why you want to be so far from us, explain it Ila?" she asked me.

"Because mother," I sighed, "Shem and I want a chance to be our own family. For so long we thought that we would never be able to have even one child and now look at us. We do not want to hurt you or father; we only wish to enjoy what we have been blessed with."

Mother looked at me knowingly and kissed my forehead. She helped me stand and wrapped a towel around me. Once I was dry and out of the tub, I put on a clean night dress and mother helped lower me onto my mattress. She lied down next to me and stroked my hair. I felt my eyes droop and finally succumbed to sleep.

When I woke later it was not mother who was next to me, but Shem. He was wide awake and his hands were caressing my belly. He must have felt me move because he looked up at me and smiled.

"I thought I told you to mind the children." I scolded him jokingly.

"I was but they are napping now." He replied kissing me, "you know how beautiful you are right Ila?"

"I am most definitely not beautiful right now." I said, point to my swollen abdomen, feet, face, neck, and hands.

"I don't mind it. It shows that you are carrying new life that we have created." He told me.

"Ma!" cried Elijah, running into the hut and onto the mattress.

"And how did you get out of your cot?" I asked him, poking his nose as Shem ruffled his hair.

"Climbed." He mumbled into my neck.

"I believe it is time for a new cot." Shem declared.

"When we move." I told him.

A couple more weeks had past and it was time for us to move. Shem had continued to keep count of how many days I had been pregnant and so far it was two hundred and fifty-three days. I was tired and tried not to move so much to try to keep the babies from coming. It had taken a while, but I finally realized that mother was right, I was having twins again.

Shem, father, and Ham had started to move our bedrolls, blankets, and other furniture, while mother and I packed up herbs, berries, bread, and fish. Japheth and Na'el kept the children busy and packed up our clothes. Mother had come to terms with our moving but she still didn't like that we were moving before I gave birth. For our first night in the new hut, mother and father had agreed to watch the girls, and Ham and Na'el were to watch Elijah so that Shem and I could be alone. It had been so long since Shem and I had lied together or even been alone, and we wanted a night before I gave birth.

Once we were all done packing, and our new home was done, Shem and I bid good night to everyone, kissed our children, and left. It took a while to get there due to my extra weight, but once we got in I gasped at how perfect it was. There was a furnace and a hearth right where you walked in and a cooking and dining are behind it. Off to the left there was a washroom and a fairly large room.

"Our bedroom." He whispered in my ear.

Off to the right of the common area were three rooms for the children. The plan was to give them each their own room until the new ones were older, then we would have Adah and Evi share and the new twins would share. Outside the hut was a beautiful little herb garden and some chairs that I had seen Shem building. He had built most of the furniture here but those chairs he built by our old hut with the girls. We also had a little coop made of wood that housed a few chickens, for eggs, and a fenced area of cattle and goats for milk. Not too far from the hut was a lake that Shem had said was clean for washing clothes and dishes and we could also fish from it. Father had allowed us to begin eating fish, eggs, and a few types of birds, but the birds and fish we killed had to be plentiful.

After the tour of our new home Shem and I went back to our room. Once we got there he moved to kiss me and I kissed him back. He pulled off my dress and gently lied me down on the mattress. The second I lied down, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach but I ignored it, thinking it was just a sharp kick. By this time Shem had removed his shirt and was on top of me, kissing my neck, his hands wandering to my thighs. I began to touch his chest and just as he moved his hands in-between my legs, I felt a familiar trickle of water roll down from my womanhood. Shem stopped what he was doing and looked up at me.

"Was that?" he asked me wild-eyed.

I gulped and nodded. He immediately jumped up and helped me into my night dress. He ran out of the room and came back a few moments later with some blankets and water. As he came back, I felt a contraction rip through me and knowing the children weren't around I let out a howl. Shem immediately came to my side and grasped my hand. Once it passed, he released my hand and went to go check on the babies.

"They're coming Ila." He told me, "I do not want to leave you alone so I will deliver them, then when I know you are all fine I will fetch mother."

"Do you know how?" I asked him through my tears.

"Yes mother taught me, just in case." He replied.

He wet a piece of cloth and placed it on my forehead. My water had broken before I really had any contraction so I knew this birth would be fast. Another contraction hit and I gripped Shem's hand.

"Breath Ila. In and out." He instructed me.

"I KNOW SHEM!" I hollered at him.

Just about every few hours he would move from my side to check in between my legs.

"I see a head Ila. You will need to push soon." He finally said, cleaning his hands once again.

I took a deep breath and as soon as I felt another contraction I pushed. Shem kept held of my hand and squeezed it encouragingly while telling me how well I was doing.

"You're doing so well Ila. One more push and the first one will be out." Shem told me, crying.

I pushed one last time and heard a shrill cry fill the room. I looked up to see Shem removing a crying baby from my body. He wiped it down with a wet cloth and swaddled it in a blanket, then crossed over and handed it to me.

"Meet your new daughter." He told me handing her over.

I took her into my arms and started to rock her. I looked at her and saw that she had mine and my birth mother's dark brown eyes, and black hair like Naameh and Ham.

"She's so beautiful." Shem said stroking her little tuft of hair.

Before I could reply I felt another sharp pain in my abdomen and grunted. Shem took the baby and but her in her cradle by our bedroll. He then came back over to me and checked on the next baby. He told me to push and I did. As soon as I started to push, I noticed something change in Shem's demeanor.

"What's wrong Shem?" I cried.

"The cord is around its neck. You need to push as hard as you can!" he informed me.

I pushed as hard as I could, feeling my face turn purple. I felt the baby slip out and Shem immediately untied the cord, but something was still wrong; the baby wasn't crying and it was a bluish-grey color. Shem put the baby on a blanket on the ground and began to blow air into its mouth. I was sobbing, trying to sit up but Shem kept yelling at me to stay down. After a few grueling moments, I finally heard the sound we had been waiting for. Shem got up and handed me the baby and went to pick up our daughter. Curious, I moved the blanket and saw that it was a boy. Shem sat down next to me and we sat in silence, staring at our newest miracles.


End file.
